Radio, Part One

Standing in the crowd during the Shannon McNally in-store at Waterloo last week was Jody Denberg,the former music director of KGSR. Until Jody left the station in December, KGSR was great radio. Now, with the exception of the ever infrequent local artists that they manage to work into the playlist, KGSR is nearly indistinguishable from the classic hits station, BobFM. Every time I hear them playing Pink Floyd, or The Cars, I want to puke. I kinda like Pink Floyd and The Cars, but they don't belong on KGSR. I did not talk to Jody after the show because someone else had his attention, but I wanted to tell him that he was missed. I'll bet, and I hope, that he hears that a lot.

I've only spoken to Jody once, and that was at the first KGSR Christmas Party that I sneaked (I like the word "snuck," but it seems to be a non-word) into. Back then they held the party at the Austin City Limits studio at UT, and just getting in the building was the tough part. I really wanted to see Patty Griffin that night in December, so I waited until most of the show was over, and drove down to the studio building. As luck would have it, someone had propped open a side door (probably to smoke), which allowed me access to a stair well. I climbed the 5 flights of stairs to the studio level, and walked in with a group of other people who had taken a restroom break. Too easy. I was in.

At that point, there really wasn't anybody whose job it was to be a hard ass about security. It was dark, people were enjoying the show (Patty had just taken the stage), so I just found a place on an open bleacher seat. Oh, and there was still free beer left, so I grabbed one. The show was great, and when it was over I walked down to the floor, where Jody Denberg was standing. This was basically his show, and a few people were chatting him up. I waited until they moved on, walked up to Jody and said, "That was a great show, and I had to sneak in just to see it." He stepped back just a bit, to see that I did not have an admission badge around my neck. He then stepped toward me, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "Man, I'm proud of you. I'm glad you made it in tonight." He knew that I had filled the seat of a person who hadn't cared enough about the music to stay for the whole show. I thanked him and left.

18 months ago, I got myself into the KGSR party with a bona fide pass. Now the party is held in the ballroom upstairs in the Texas (UT) Union. They have more room for sponsors and their ilk up there. More sponsors means more older people leaving early. The building is wide open, but security to the ballroom is pretty tight. So I go upstairs and wait until an older couple exits and is heading down the outside stairs. I follow them at a non-threatening distance until I am sure that they are leaving for the night. Before they get to the main "Drag" crossing, I approach them most respectfully, saying, "Excuse me, are y'all leaving the show?" They are, they say, and I ask if I might have one of their passes. The woman hands me her pass, which she hasn't even put on, because the adhesive might have ruined her fancy dress. I can't thank them enough; I slap that pass onto my shirt and walk into the ballroom. I get to see full sets from The Bodeans and Alejandro Escovedo, and there is free Bar-B-Que and beer. If I could just get Carrie to join me on these outings, they would be even better.

The station still hosts great events like Blues on the Green, and Unplugged at the Grove, but the soulless quality of their broadcast day leaves a hole in Austin Music. 750 people have joined a Facebook page called, "I love KGSR, but please bring back the old format." God Bless 'em, but social media cannot turn back the clock, and the corporate tools have test marketed authentic radio into the grave. So sad.

Two random thoughts:
1) I don't want to diminish the suffering of the people in the Northeast U.S. They are not accustomed to the heat, which has been deadly. But I heard that a "heat wave" is defined as three or more consecutive days above 90 degrees. Okay, around here we call that "April."

2) I know a little about geography, but it confounds me how Holland, The Netherlands, and The Dutch can be all the same country. No wonder they are killing in the World Cup (that's soccer). I always thought Trinidad and Tobago had an unfair advantage, but these guys have taken it too far. If they beat Spain in the finals, while wearing those little wooden shoes, it will be time to break up the three headed monster that is the Holland-Dutch-Netherlands juggernaut.

Peace,

JS4